There are 13 colleges and universities in the U.S. state of Vermont that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.[1] These include one research university, four master's universities, five primarily baccalaureate colleges, a law school, a community college and an art school that operates exclusively online.

There are three public institutions in Vermont, including the state's flagship public university is the University of Vermont (UVM).[2] The other two public institutions are organized as the Vermont State Colleges system, comprising Vermont State University and the Community College of Vermont. Colleges in Vermont range in size from UVM, with 13,348 students as of 2022, to Sterling College, a private work college with 112 students. All 13 institutions are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.[3]

Three schools claim to be the oldest college in Vermont. UVM was chartered in 1791 but did not begin instruction until 1800 or grant a degree until 1804. Middlebury College was chartered in 1800 and was Vermont's first college to grant an academic degree in 1802. Castleton University, which today is a campus of Vermont State University, was considered to be the oldest institution of higher learning in Vermont, having been originally chartered as a grammar school in 1787.[4][5][6] Vermont's newest college not formed from existing institutions is Landmark College, founded in 1984 to serve students with learning disabilities.

Institutions

School Location(s) Control Type[7] Enrollment
(Fall 2024)[8] 		Founded[9]
Bennington College Bennington Private Baccalaureate college 927 1932
Champlain College Burlington Private Master's university 3,259 1878
Community College of Vermont 12 locations Public Associate's college 5,028 1970[10]
Landmark College Putney Private Baccalaureate/associate's college 672 1984[11]
Middlebury College Middlebury Private Baccalaureate college 2,803 1800
Norwich University Northfield Private Master's university 3,149 1819
Saint Michael's College Colchester Private
(Catholic) 		Baccalaureate college 1,323 1904
SIT Graduate Institute Brattleboro Private Master's university 644 1965[12]
Sterling College Craftsbury Common Private Baccalaureate college 57 1958

(closing in May 2026)[13]

University of Vermont Burlington Public Research university 14,476 1791
Vermont College of Fine Arts Montpelier
(online only) 		Private Art school 190 1831[14]
Vermont Law and Graduate School South Royalton Private Law school 722 1972[15]
Vermont State University 5 locations Public Master's university 5,093 2023

Out-of-state institutions

Out-of-state colleges may offer degree programs in Vermont with approval of the Vermont State Board of Education, with input from the Vermont Higher Education Council, whose members include all the colleges and universities in Vermont.[16][17]

As of 2024, the only out-of-state institution offering degrees in Vermont is Southern New Hampshire University, which offers graduate degrees in education at the former Trinity College campus in Colchester.[18]

Unaccredited institutions

Two institutions are authorized by the state to offer degrees, but have not been recognized by a regional or national accrediting body:

Defunct institutions

School Location Control Type Founded Closed Notes
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Colchester Private Pharmacy school 1881 (main campus in Albany, NY) 2021 Satellite campus only[22]
Burlington College Burlington Private Baccalaureate college 1972 2016 [23]
Castleton University Castleton Public Baccalaureate college 1787 2023 Merged into Vermont State University
Castleton Medical College Castleton Private Medical school 1818 1862 [24]
College of St. Joseph Rutland Private
(Catholic) 		Master's university 1956 2019
Green Mountain College Poultney Private
(Methodist) 		Baccalaureate college 1834 2019
Goddard College Plainfield Private Master's university 1938 2024
Johnson State College Johnson Public Baccalaureate college 1828 2018 Merged with Lyndon State College to form Northern Vermont University[25]
Lyndon State College Lyndonville Public Baccalaureate college 1911 2018 Merged with Johnson State College to form Northern Vermont University[25]
Mark Hopkins College Brattleboro Private Baccalaureate college 1964 1978 [26]
Marlboro College Marlboro Private Baccalaureate college 1946 2020 Donated endowment to Emerson College to create Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies[27]
New England Culinary Institute Montpelier Private
(for-profit) 		Culinary school 1980 2021
Northern Vermont University Lyndon and Johnson Public Master's university 2018 2023 Merged into Vermont State University
Royalton College South Royalton Private Baccalaureate college 1965 1981 [28][29]
Southern Vermont College Bennington Private Baccalaureate college 1926 2019
Trinity College of Vermont Burlington Private
(Catholic) 		Master's university 1925 2001 [30]
Vermont Medical College Woodstock Private Medical school 1827 1856 [31]
Vermont Technical College Randolph and Williston Public Baccalaureate college 1866 2023 Merged into Vermont State University
Woodbury College Montpelier Private Baccalaureate college 1975 2008 Merged into Champlain College
Windham College Putney Private Baccalaureate college 1951 1978 [32]

See also

References and notes

General
Specific
  1. "Institutions Search - CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION". carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu.
  2. Campus tensions in Connecticut: Searching for Solutions in the Nineties. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 1994. p. 1.
  3. "Vermont Institutions". NECHE. New England Commission of Higher Education.
  4. "Castleton State College | Liberal Arts, Education, Vermont | Britannica". www.britannica.com.
  5. "'Vermont's First College' Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  6. "information-history-index". Vermont State University Castleton.
  7. School types are based on the Carnegie Classification:
    "Institution Lookup". The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
  8. Enrollment is the total enrollment as reported by IPEDS for fall 2023.
  9. U.S. News & World Report. "America's Best Colleges 2008".
  10. Community College of Vermont. "Facts at a Glance". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012.
  11. Landmark College. "The Landmark College Story".
  12. School for International Training. "Virtual Campus Tour". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  13. Duffort, Lola (November 13, 2025). "Sterling College announces it will close this spring". Vermont Public.
  14. Vermont College of Fine Arts. "Vermont College of Fine Arts Progress Report January 2007—January 2008". Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2012.
  15. Vermont Law School. "VLS Press Kit". Archived from the original on August 8, 2007.
  16. Vermont Higher Education Council. "Certification".
  17. Vermont Agency of Education. "Postsecondary Programs".
  18. "SNHU Vermont". Southern New Hampshire University.
  19. "Programs". Center for Cartoon Studies.
  20. "The Accreditation Question" (PDF). Center for Cartoon Studies.
  21. Art Toalston (September 17, 2014). "Baptist college gains Vermont accreditation". Baptist Press.
  22. "Pharmacy college will close Vermont campus in June 2021 | Vermont Business Magazine". vermontbiz.com.
  23. Holm, Coralee (May 16, 2016). "Burlington College Closes Academic Programs". Archived from the original on July 12, 2016.
  24. Castleton Historical Society. "Castleton Medical College Chapel". Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.
  25. Noyes, Amy Kolb (September 22, 2017). "How Rival State Colleges Are Merging To Become Northern Vermont University". www.vpr.org.
  26. Ohles, John F. (1982). Private colleges and universities, Volume 1. Greenwood Press. p. 736. ISBN 0-313-23323-3.
  27. "Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College". www.emerson.edu.
  28. The College Blue Book: Narrative descriptions. Macmillan. 1987. p. 709. ISBN 0-02-695880-5.
  29. Drysdale, M.D. (October 17, 2013). "Law School Founder Doria Is Dead". The Herald.
  30. Trinity College of Vermont Association of Alumni and Friends. "History of Trinity College of Vermont". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  31. Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association (1918). Medical Colleges of the United States and of Foreign Countries. American Medical Association. p. 16.
  32. Putney Historical Society. "History Timeline 1500s-2004". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012.